Articles from August 2016

Today we have US employment data which will give us a taster as we build up to the key non farm payroll data on Friday.

Feedback from the labour market is the highest consideration, as the FOMC judge whether it is appropriate to increase interest rates. On Friday the payroll data is expected to come in at a healthy 175k, and average earnings are likely to increase by 0.2%.

We could also see the unemployment rate fall slightly to 4.8% from 4.9%. If we see positive US data this week, it will build expectations for a September rate hike and lead to USD gains.

Eurozone inflation softer for August

In the Eurozone, CPI for August (y/y) has come in slightly softer than expected at 0.2% vs 0.3% expected. In addition, the unemployment rate for July has been confirmed at 10.1% which is in line with forecast. This morning the euro has been on the back foot and disappointing inflation data will not help this trend.

Pound finds tentative momentum

The Pound has managed to pick up this morning against the euro and the USD. Following a better run of UK data this week, the pound is finding some tentative momentum. Tomorrow we have UK Manufacturing PMI, and on Friday Construction PMI to give further feedback for the UK economy.

After the 3 day weekend, the markets have opened up after fully digesting the Fed Jackson Hole meeting with the Pound increasing over the bank holiday weekend.

Janet Yellen’s suggestion that a rate rise is still likely has seen the FTSE strengthen again by 0.3%, but oil has stated to come under renewed pressure.

With a hike now potentially in September a real possibility, Brent Crude found itself trading below $50 per barrel once more and with that, the price for those who do not hold US Dollars as their base currency will find all oil based products more expensive to purchase.

Number of investments coming into UK at year high

The number of investments that come into the UK was at a year high, up a big 11%.

A number of the 116,000 jobs created were said to have been created from overseas investments, also showing the UK as the most appealing region in Europe to do business.

A number of reasons were given as to why the UK attracts so well, such as the English language (spoken globally), fair tax and EU membership, which could now become a hindering block after Article 50 is triggered.

Today’s key data is mixed in terms of geography, with UK Mortgage Approvals, Fed’s Fischer speaking on Bloomberg and German Consumer Price Index out today which may move the markets.

Sterling had a much better day trading yesterday against all its major currency pairings, as the UK Jobless Claims total fell to a record 1.64 million.

The numbers from April to June showed that the total fell by just over 50,000, with official figures indicating 31.75m people (74.5%) are currently in work.

Wages with and without bonus’ also showed gains, as the current claimant count for July displayed an 8,000 drop in actual claimants since the surprise Brexit vote.

Conversely Fed Reserve hints at interest rate hike

The minutes of July’s Federal Reserve meeting has hinted at another interest rate hike before the end of the year, but there was a clear division between members.

The FOMC looked to be nearing another move, as job growth and the sharp market recovery (post Brexit) has been a major factor; but a low inflation figures lack of rise, and staying towards its 2% target is still a concern.

With unemployment levels in the US below 5%, one Fed Member, Esther George, wanted a further hike in rates as ‘the economy is at or near full employment’.

The Bank of England’s has cut interest rates by half to a new record low of 0.25%.

In addition the Bank of England (BOE) launched a massive stimulus package designed to save the UK economy from recession.

The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted unanimously to slash interest rates to an all time low; they also hinted that it might cut rates “close to but a little above zero” and could unleash more Quantitative Easing if needed.

With a 60 billion government bond buying program and a new initiative to buy 10 billion pounds of corporate bonds, the Bank of England hope to support the necessary adjustments in the UK economy following Brexit.

Mark Carney and the Bank of England think that the outlook for growth has “weakened materially” and they anticipate that the pain will be felt in 2017 as their Quarterly Report shows 2017 forecast slashed from 2.3% to 0.8%, the largest downgrade to its growth forecast to date.

Inflation is forecasted to increase thanks to the weakness of the pound, with the Central Bank now anticipating to hit their 2% target in Q4 of 2017 as opposed to Q2 of 2018 as previously anticipated.

The unemployment rate is also expected to rise to 5.4% in Q3 2016 compared to a previous forecast of 4.9%.

From the US to Europe, other data to come

After Super Thursday, the market will look at the US non-farm payrolls. Following the strong increase in June, a majority of economists are now expecting a weaker number with job growth around 180,000 as Wednesday’s ADP employment report showed signs of softness in the employment components of both ISM reports.

Looking at the day ahead the rest of the data due out in Europe will be overshadowed. Germany factory orders numbers for June, the latest trade balance reading for France and the latest UK house price data are the main data this morning before the market turns its eyes to the July employment report in the US.